Bass Masters Hooks Fishing Fans On Sport

Classics Tourneys Draw All-american Following

Arthur "Ott" DeFoe, 14, stood impatiently in line, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. In his hand were two ball caps riddled with the ink-black signatures of his heroes.

Ott, his 17-year-old brother Charles "Sonny" and his parents had just climbed out of the family Grand Marquis early Wednesday morning after finishing the last leg of a nine-hour drive from their home in Knoxville, Tenn.

They drove all this way to see professional anglers compete in the BASS Masters Classic, often regaled as the World Series of Fishing. And although it is Ott's first time in Chicago, the trip marks his fifth consecutive Classic.

"My favorite pro is Hank Parker," he said. "He seems to be a real nice guy and a family man."

This week, Chicago can add a new group of sports fans to its already colorful ranks. They are an unusual sort, people who travel for miles to attend an event they can't even watch as it happens.

They are fishing fans.

Spectating at the three-day tournament, which begins Thursday on Lake Michigan, Lake Calumet and Chicago-area rivers, is virtually impossible save for those lucky local fishermen with boats and a few die-hard out-of-towners who haul their own watercraft from home.

These fans will cruise the waters looking for the leaders, following along and watching through binoculars.

But thousands of others pouring into the city--from Oklahoma, Ohio, Florida, South Carolina and elsewhere--won't ever see a fish on the end of a line. Instead, audiences of more than 20,000 are expected at Soldier Field as competitors weigh each day's catch.

To Classic loyalists, a huge part of the attraction is that, despite all the logo-riddled gear and increasing purses for winners, the sport still retains its All-American, Huck Finn roots: Although the pros use a bewildering array of customized lures, a 50-cent bobber and unearthed worm will still do the trick for the rest of us.

There's never been a cheating scandal in the history of the Classic, now in its 30th year. And while other pros make news with drug scandals and police records, these guys have wholesome hobbies such as gardening, woodworking, antique collecting and Bible study.

Earl Schultz of Sumter, S.C., has been to 13 consecutive Classics. "The first year I went I was so impressed I've been back every year since," said Schultz, who arrived in Chicago on Tuesday. "There is something there that is patriotic. It is without a doubt a sport that is clean throughout."

A retired heating and air-conditioning technician who brought his 13-year-old granddaughter, Tiffany, to what will be her fourth Classic, Schultz said the weigh-in "is like a drum roll. ... It's all about suspense."

"I'm an old baseball fan who lost my patriotism when it comes to baseball, with what happened with [Pete] Rose and [Darryl] Strawberry," said Schultz, 62. "At the end of the weigh-in, the winner has a champion ride with the American flag flying. You know these guys have worked so hard for this that it just brings tears to your eyes."

More than 125,000 people are expected to come to the Classic and associated events throughout the week, including an outdoor sporting goods show at McCormick Place, according to figures from B.A.S.S. Inc., organizer of the tournament.

The extravaganza is expected to bring $45 million to the city for the week, said Tom Gray of the Mayor's Office of Special Events.

By 8 a.m. Wednesday, youngsters were lining up at Jackson Park to snag an autograph from pros such as Skeet Reese, Davy Hite and Woo Daves--unfamiliar names to most, but superstars on the bass circuit.

Young anglers received free rod-and-reel combos in a Kids Klassic event at the park, where more than 1,000 children learned to cast and caught bluegill and bass in the harbor.

Kevin VanDam, a popular pro who's fishing his 10th Classic, paused between photo ops and autographs to ask, "In what other sport can you get next to your heroes?"

Fans, he added, easily identify with the pros. "Spectators can fish the same way we do and in the same water we do," said VanDam. "How many people can get their car on the same racetrack where Jeff Gordon drove, or shoot hoops on the same court where Michael Jordan played?"

Rich Pinkowski, 34, of Oak Forest, took the week off from his construction job to volunteer at the Classic. "It's just like the old Stadium when the Blackhawks were getting ready to hit the ice," said Pinkowski, who has been following professional fishing for 10 years and hopes to become a pro. "The electricity is tremendous."

Jack Law, the brother-in-law of angler Rob Kilby, brought his wife and two sons from Houston for the tournament. Kilby's parents, wife and three children also came here from Arkansas.

"NASCAR is booming, fishing is booming, because people can relate to [the sportsmen]," Law said. "They are not these Dennis Rodman types."

Ott DeFoe, who knows the pros from television fishing shows and bass magazines, wanted an autograph from Hite, the winner of last year's Classic.

As Hite picked up a baseball card-size photo of himself to sign, Ott stared down at Hite's tanned hands. "Is that your Classic ring?" he asked, eyeing a massive blue and gold ring.

"Want to look at it?" said Hite, placing the ring in Ott's outstretched hand. "Now don't run off with it."

Ott silently turned it over and over, said, "Thank you," handed back the ring and walked away, smiling.